Operation Demeter
by MassHysteric
Summary: Miranda Lawson joins forces with Hannah and Dylan Shepard to launch an assault on Cerberus headquarters, hoping to end its relentless pursuit of their daughter Cadrina…
1. To Hades' Heart

Operation Demeter

This latest three-parter runs parallel to the story _Mindfields, _shining the spotlight on Cadrina Shepard's parents. It is another chapter in the Interface storyline and contains strong language, violence, some spoilers and alternate speculations for _Mass Effect 3_.

_Miranda Lawson joins forces with Hannah and Dylan Shepard to launch an assault on Cerberus headquarters, hoping to end its relentless pursuit of their daughter Cadrina…_

I

Ever since Cadrina Shepard left the Earth, they had clashed with her at every turn:

Cerberus troops.

From the planet Sur'Kesh to the moons of Palaven and even through the blasted ruins of Tuchanka, wave after wave of black and white armor-clad soldiers came at her with guns, grenades, heavy weapons and mechs, further complicating her already Herculean efforts to battle the Reapers and rally the citizenry. Many of her teammates and crew believed the Illusive Man was out for revenge against the commander for defying him. However, it made no sense to others that at a time when all should unite against a common foe, an organization that claimed to champion humanity seemed dead set on eliminating the one human who could end the war. It was their conclusion that Cerberus had fallen victim to indoctrination, reducing them, and perhaps even the Illusive Man himself, to lap dogs of the invading armadas. Whatever the reason, the attacks only increased in ferocity as Cadrina began searching for a mythical prothean weapon called the Interface. The strain on her was beginning to show.

Hannah Shepard was not about to let this continue. Frustrated by their interference, the wily captain of the dreadnought _SSV Orizaba _proposed taking the fight to Cerberus. Her daughter tried to talk Hannah into remaining at her side, but Hannah was adamant. The Illusive Man needed to be stopped and striking at his main headquarters could draw away some of his troops and disrupt coordination of intelligence and supply lines, assuming there was no indoctrination. Hannah's husband Dylan, seeing an opportunity to find out what Cerberus knew about the Reapers, joined up with her against Cadrina's wishes. Only one other individual went along with them after a fierce debate of her own with the commander of the _Normandy 2_. Someone with the knowledge needed to pull off this attack:

Former Cerberus agent Miranda Lawson.

Aboard the _Orizaba_ Miranda, Hannah and Dylan decided on a Trojan horse ploy to disable the Cerberus space station's defenses in order to pound it from long range with the dreadnought's array of armaments. A shuttle would be mocked up to resemble a Cerberus transport, transmitting IFF codes provided by Miranda to bypass the station's sensor net. The three of them were to venture in, tap into the mainframe and hijack the station's systems. Dylan could then gather as much data as possible before the bombardment commenced. After a few amendments to the overall plan, Hannah ordered her helmsman to lay in a course…

Dylan huffed as he observed his wife sitting across from him in the cockpit of their shuttle go through yet another full check of her assault rifle, a heavily modified Falcon M8. "You're good - you didn't miss anything!"

Hannah finished and held her weapon, caught in a flush of adrenaline "And I don't intend to miss when I unload on that son of a bitch!" She chambered a slug in her rifle. "Playing Frankenstein with our daughter for two years, toying with her, then sicking his dogs on her…!"

"If he's even there," Dylan interrupted as he piloted the craft.

"Yeah, you're right. Shouldn't get my hopes up," Hannah settled "But I'm still for reducing his base to slag, which is what bugs me about your little scheme. You wanna poke around their servers for intel, fine. But you actually wanna recruit these people?"

"We need as many allies and resources as we can find. They can't all be marching in lock step with the Illusive Man; surely they know how bad things have gotten back home. Once we've taken over the station, maybe we can convince them to sign on with us. Stranger alliances have formed in desperate times."

"…riiiight…"

"...or I can let you convince them…" Dylan hinted. Hannah grinned with satisfaction, remembering her ship's main gun.

"Riiight…. _'Sunday Punch_;' locked, loaded and waiting. With their pants down, the threat alone should more than help get their priorities straight. If this plan of yours backfires, my ship has orders to send over one last 'Fuck You!' barrage before she bugs out!"

Dylan raised his brow and shuddered at this last resort of Hannah's "…let's just hope it doesn't come to that!"

Husband and wife snickered quietly and faced forward. After a minute passed they turned to the shuttlecraft's small hold where Miranda sat with her forearms draped over her lap, eyes looking down at the deck, preoccupied. She had not said a single word since leaving the _Orizaba_. Something was eating away at her. Dylan had seen this look before in other desperate soldiers: the look of deep reflection, the weighing of life choices and remaining options.

"Miranda… are you all right?"" he asked. Miranda snapped out of her reverie and sat up straight to acknowledge him.

"Ready to do this? "inquired Hannah "Not having regrets about your old pals, are you?"

"Of course not," Miranda responded "My only regret was not having the chance to tender my resignation in person!"

Miranda's eyes flashed with emotion for an instant; she had lost much in this war. So much was lost and so much changed for everyone involved and yet throughout it all, Hannah and Dylan somehow kept their faith in the cause. Kept their faith in Cadrina and supported one another. In the time spent with them, Miranda managed to build somewhat of a rapport. Hannah was still a bit distant, not sure whether to fully trust the ex-Cerberus agent or not. Dylan was more accepting and came to her defense when Hannah indulged in verbal jabs at her expense. Now the trio was about to engage a major player in galactic affairs, each having their own reasons for taking on the mission. Hannah and Dylan sought retribution for their daughter, though he seemed content with only harnessing Cerberus resources while she would settle for no less than their total annihilation. Miranda was looking for redemption. It wasn't enough that she had already proven herself to Cadrina and her team; she wanted to prove to herself and the warriors before her conclusively that her former employer no longer held any sway.

"Not to worry, I'm fine. You can count on me." Miranda said, more to herself than to answer Cadrina's parents. "We should focus on the mission… I might… talk about it later… when it's over…"

She began to check over her armor and weapons to bury her feelings. Hannah contacted her ship, advising radio silence and that it remain in its current position on the edge of the Cerberus station's sensor range. She also reiterated her orders to fire upon the station if they were lost or at her discretion, whether she and her team were clear or not. Dylan checked the long range scanners – they were only minutes away now. The IFF codes provided by Miranda were queued up to broadcast in case the shuttle was pinged by enemy scans. As Dylan locked in a course, he grudgingly prepared himself for battle once again for the second time in so many years…

He and his wife visited Cadrina in her prison cell days before her trial. They were familiar with her official report of what took place at the Bahak system, finding it very suspicious that Cadrina's mission log clock showed a two-day lapse without updates or having checked back in with the _Normandy 2_, the only physical evidence to back up their daughter's story of being incapacitated. Dylan tried to get Cadrina to look up at him, wanting to know if there was any other action she could have taken. When she finally obeyed her father, her bloodshot, tear filled eyes provided Dylan's answer and broke his heart. She had tried her utmost to adhere to her parents' example, failed, and now had to answer to them and the rest of humanity. Hannah comforted her family, telling Cadrina that she did not fail; that she was failed by those she tried to help and warn of the Reaper invasion.

Dylan was silent after leaving the high security detention center, still having trouble believing that Cadrina was in effect framed by ancient, malevolent machines. Hannah pressed him on his thoughts about Cadrina's ordeal. He hesitated and then began to recount how he once planned and carried out a mission to depose the ruler of an uncooperative government in his younger years. Dylan had confessed to Hannah of his past involvement in black military operations, but had never before given any details. He began to weep as he revealed how this leader was later found hanging from the neck with the North American flag inside his cell. This man who figured out who had tricked him into leveling a town of innocent civilians he was convinced held terrorists, leading his people to believe he had gone insane, to arrest him and put him on trial. A good man, who was only trying to protect his country, sentenced to death by his conscience. Dylan concluded his tale believing what was happening to Cadrina was punishment for his own sins.

To watch his daughter's spirit die a victim of the same tactics he had used himself.

Hannah reminded him that he was no longer a cold, calculating operative, that he could never be again and that they would somehow find a way to help their child. The way turned out to be the ship under her command. _SSV Orizaba_, flagship of the Fifth Fleet, outfitted with an experimental rail gun she christened _Sunday Punch_, which annoyed the ship's tactical officer to no end. When word reached her of the _Normandy 2_'s escape, she defied orders and ordered her crew to break off and track down the ship, saving her husband and his search and rescue team from their own Husk-overrun vessel along the way…

Hannah and her squad mates stood hunched in the shuttle hold slipping on their helmets, each checking over their preferred weapons. The bluish, sunlit silhouette of the Cerberus base could be made out in the distant black as the shuttle closed in, looking like a grand, ghostly chandelier listing in space. The shuttle's VI altered the flight path to avoid collisions after the shuttle grazed some debris. Alerted by the thudding against the hull, the three gathered in the cockpit to see parts of starships and bodies flying past, twinkling as they spun about in zero gravity reflecting the sunlight beside larger, hulking fragments.

The shuttle reduced speed. Miranda took in the wreckage "Looks like someone else had the same idea, but didn't fare so well…"

"Who, aside from Cerberus and us, knows the station's even here?"

The wreckage and bodies were too burnt and torn for Dylan to readily identify anything from Systems Alliance, the Turian Hierarchy or any other military organization. Providence seemed to hear their thoughts and provided the answer in the form of a scorched Husk corpse passing by the shuttle. Hannah could feel the tension in the air rise with the awareness that the station ahead could be crawling with them.

She tapped Miranda and Dylan's shoulders with a fist. "We've come too far to turn back now. We stick to the plan. Get ready!"

The three warriors checked their armored suit systems and wished each other good hunting. Dylan caught another glimpse of Miranda's eyes. There was that slight twinge of sadness again, then nothing.

In the space station's main control room, a frazzled officer picked up a blip on his console. Keying in commands to enhance the reading, he identified a Cerberus transport on an approach vector. He opened a com channel to his commander.

"Lieutenant Krosso… ma'am!" he whispered tensely " I got something on the scopes: mid-range transport coming in!"

A companion of his looked over his shoulder to confirm. "Blast it, stupid! Could be another one jammed full of those undead shits!"

The officer continued signaling as the shuttle closed in, but the lieutenant was busy suppressing a batch of Husks that had broken through a barricade deeper within the station. His friend was growing impatient.

"Well, if you won't shoot it down, I will!" she said as she went to her console and brought up what was left of the station's deck guns.

"… Pierce, what are you jawing about?" Krosso finally answered over the speakers, the Husks eliminated.

"Problem, ma'am: transport coming in to dock with the portside cargo bay. She's transmitting some outdated codes, but they check out."

"It's about to become one less problem, ma'am!" Pierce's companion interjected as she targeted the shuttle.

"Hold it, Kowalski," barked Krosso "Any life readings?"

"Zero, ma'am." said Pierce "No life signs, no weird signatures or signals – nothing! Shuttle doesn't seem damaged; looks like it's on VI… it's starting the landing cycle. How do we handle this one?"

"…Dammit, I can't spare anyone to check on it! Let it land and then seal off the bay, nothing gets in or out. Keep a close watch on it. If by some miracle we can finish these monsters off and it's really empty, we can use it to get off this deathtrap!"

Kowalski groaned in disapproval.

"Stand down, soldier!" repeated the lieutenant.

"… Yes, ma'am…" complied Kowalski, keying off the weapons systems.

The shuttle slipped in past the bay doors and gently touched down on the landing pad, the VI accessing the bay controls to begin sealing and pressurizing the bay. Once the doors shut, Pierce entered commands to lock down the cargo bay but allowed pressurization to complete. The occupants of the shuttle were now trapped until anyone cared to look in on them. The shuttle engines and landing lights cut off. Ten minutes passed without the shuttle door opening. Pierce then returned his attention to the other remote cameras with Kowalski. No more incoming vessels, just the same debris as before. One particular piece escaped their notice as the shuttle landed, drifting very close to a maintenance hatch beneath the station.

Miranda held fast while Hannah and Dylan used exhaust from assorted fire suppressors and air tanks to steer their commandeered flotsam, her breathing pattern betraying her efforts. Hannah almost seemed to relish the experience.

"To think you wanted to stay on the shuttle and miss out on this!" Hannah teased as she touched her helmet to Miranda's after expelling another burst from an air canister. Not chancing anyone listening over bandwidths for com chatter, they utilized the vibrations the sounds of their voices made against their suit helmets.

"Looks like it made it to the cargo bay," Miranda reported.

"And with luck, that's where it'll be," said Hannah "Safe and sound, waiting for us to make our getaway!"

Dylan touched his helmet to theirs after peeking over his side "All right… get ready to ditch this thing in three… two… one…!"

The three pushed off the wreckage and righted themselves to the outer wall of the station. Their magnetic boots activated and took hold. They circled the hatch and looked up briefly at the fragment they used as cover falling further away into the dark. Miranda knelt down and opened a panel beside the hatch, engaging a hand crank to open its door. Trace gases vented out and the three huddled and touched helmets again over the opening. Miranda brought up plans for the space station on her omni-tool.

"Wonder what the damage is inside… Which way, Miranda?" asked Dylan.

The former Cerberus agent consulted her map. "The hatch twenty meters ahead leads to an airlock. Past that will be a transfer junction that connects to the ventilation system shafts; we can use them to get to the mainframe up on Level Six." Miranda traced the hologramatic plans with her finger "This shaft will take you to the munitions area… this one to the main control room… and this shaft… leads to the Illusive Man's office. Once we've hacked the mainframe, we can lock down the station…"

"All right then, let's move out!" barked Hannah as she started to back away but then touched her helmet to her companions' again "You think this way in's safe?" She looked on Miranda with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

Miranda took her queue and commented "Well, I was going to go in first…" Hannah clapped her shoulder.

"That's my little decoy!"

"Hannah!" Dylan scolded.

"Ohhh, un-pucker woulda, Dyl?" Hannah shot back.

Miranda sprayed a laugh past her lips and quieted down again, finding their exchange humorous in spite of herself. Hannah's eyes met Dylan's as they laughed in reaction to Miranda. Dylan's bride winked; Hannah often used humor to dispel any excess tension prior to and during missions.

"C'mon! Let's go teach this dog a new trick!"

She disengaged her magnetic boots and took hold of the lip of the hatch going into a handstand and pulled herself in. Dylan and Miranda followed, sealing the hatch behind them.

Pierce and Kowalski finished another security sweep on their consoles. An intermittent blip appeared to be winding through the maintenance shafts and then disappeared completely. The damage from gunfire and explosions skewed some of the internal sensors. They believed the blip was probably a glitch or Husks fumbling through the shafts. Kowalski was itching for another fight after being denied the chance to shoot down the landed shuttle. Pierce anxiously awaited the word to vacate the station, having had his fill of gunning down the Reaper-constructed atrocities and then later having to listen to more of his friends dying over his comset. He nearly jumped out of his seat when there was a sudden audible knocking on the door of the control room. Pierce was very still as was Kowalski. A few seconds later there was more knocking.

"Who the fuck is that?" grumbled Kowalski as she pulled up a view of the exterior door. Pierce bolted over to her console. He squinted as he focused on the image of the raven-haired woman standing before the door with her weapons holstered.

"… I don't believe it…" Pierce exhaled, drawing his pistol and heading for the door. Kowalski called after him, cursed aloud and then went after him with rifle shouldered. As she left, a floor panel near her console began to bend and warp as something on the other side worked to remove it. Kowalski joined Pierce at the door, aiming at its center as Pierce unsealed it. As the door finished recessing into the walls, he aimed his pistol at the woman's head.

"Miranda Lawson," declared Pierce "Never thought I'd see you here again!"

"Just my luck to find you cowering here, Irving!" Miranda retorted.

Pierce thrust his pistol at her. "Don't try anything stupid, doll! Your biotics aren't faster than a bullet at point blank range!"

Miranda calmly placed her hands on her head, eyes fixed on Pierce.

"You know her?" blurted Kowalski.

Pierce sneered "Do I know her… she was pretty big around here. The Illusive Man's little squeeze until she hooked up with Shepard and dumped his ass! Thought you could come back to screw us over even more?"

Miranda snarled in disgust at his insinuation. There was a hint of truth; the Illusive Man seemed to have a physical attraction to her at one point, but it was never acted upon, perhaps in the interests of maintaining her loyalty and efficiency as one of his best agents.

"Nice try, honey!" said Kowalski, "That took a lotta balls, but I doubt you did this all by your lonesome…" She cocked her rifle and tensed up. "Where're your friends?"

All of a sudden Kowalski grunted aloud, feeling a sharp blow to the base of her neck as someone came behind her and used their free arm to hoist up her rifle. It discharged into the ceiling as she collapsed, out cold. As Pierce whirled to his left to spy a figure standing over his companion's body, a blue glow enveloped Miranda's arms. Before he could fire, she flung an arm outwards at him and his pistol was knocked out of his hand. Miranda thrust out her other arm and he was tossed back, slamming into a console halfway down the length of the control room. He slumped down to the floor, twitched and then went unconscious. The figure standing over Kowalski removed the slug and thermal clip from her rifle and then tossed it to one side.

"I never did like him," scoffed Miranda "'The Illusive Man's little squeeze?'"

"Well… he knows better now not to talk shit about you!" said Dylan as he looked where Pierce landed and then to Miranda, who smiled proudly. Dylan keyed his comset earpiece and contacted Hannah to let her know that the control room was secured and had a bare minimum of staff that was easily tricked and subdued.

"Rookies," Hannah's voice tinned over her teammates earpieces. "Fooled by a simple signal mask; doesn't Cerberus teach its pups anything other than 'point and shoot?'"

"Only to graduate level obedience school students." joked Miranda as she dragged Kowalski over to a secluded corner of the control room while Dylan went to recover Pierce.

"Hah hah! Now you're learning, kid!" Hannah chuckled "I've just made it to the mainframe. Had to cut through a couple of Husks along the way; freaks got tangled up in the wiring."

"Well, the easy part's over," Dylan said as he laid Pierce down by Kowalski.

"Just gotta figure my way into this bucket while you guys handle the hard part, helping and recruiting these idiots," Hannah exhaled "… Are there any left?"

Dylan stood over another console and punched up a cross section of the station and scanned for life form readings. He located his, Miranda's and the two officers in the control room and also confirmed Hannah's signs at the mainframe. He panned all around but could not find any more human signals, only clumps of other readings - Reaper Husks. Dylan then zeroed in on a small group of human signs gathered in an area about two levels beneath the Illusive Man's office with other masses inching their way towards them including a larger signal.

"A few… which'll be even fewer if we don't' hurry!" He motioned to Miranda as he sprinted for the door.

"Don't get in over your heads before I'm done!" advised Hannah as she signed off.

Lieutenant Krosso expended another thermal clip on her shotgun removing the head of an oncoming Husk as her men fired from cover behind support columns and stairwells. Probing for weaknesses, the creatures pushed through a bulkhead into her area. One after another they piled in, some managing to power through the hail of bullets and eviscerate hapless soldiers. The drive to force the Husks back through the hole they came through was failing. Krosso had her remaining men form up closer; their final stand. More rounds emptied into the horde. It was clear to everyone left alive that soon the last clip would be ejected and it would all be over.

An explosion tossed up a few Husks in the rear getting attention from all present. From another corner in back singularities were cast, drawing in and crushing those who strayed too close into oozing chunks of flesh and circuitry. The horde turned and now directed its fury towards Miranda and Dylan. Dylan took up position above the crowd on a walkway with a Python sniper rifle aimed and started drilling Husks through the cranium. Miranda from her perch alternated between biotically slamming opponents onto the floor with one hand and firing suppressive rounds from an M-5 Phalanx pistol held in the other. The Husks packed further to the new combatants, giving Krosso and her men more room to maneuver. She shouted to break them out of their haze.

"'THE FUCK ARE YOU WAITING FOR! GET OFF YOUR ASSES AND HELP THEM!"

Krosso directed the soldiers to form crossfire to fence in the Husks. Acknowledging her strategy, Dylan radioed Miranda to move around the walkway to his end to force them back through the hole they came through with her biotics while he lobbed two more grenades. The tide of battle was turning in favor of the humans. Dylan's comset crackled to life again.

"Dylan, Miranda! I'm in! I've got control!" said Hannah triumphantly.

"Little busy right now!" shouted Dylan as he shredded the kneecaps of a shambling Husk that was once a krogan.

"And looks like not a moment too soon – hang on…"

Dylan and Miranda's earpieces went silent a minute as the firefight continued then abruptly cut back in with "Oh-hoooooh, I think I've got this zombie problem licked! Are they almost back through the bulkhead?"

"Whatever's still moving, yes!" screamed Miranda as she levitated and shoved a Husk back through.

"Just give the word and tell your 'friends' to hang on to anything bolted down!" The comsets went quiet again.

The last Husk on their side of the wall fell with a shriek on top of several other bodies. Miranda pitched up a temporary biotic force barrier to keep additional units from entering. Dylan promptly stowed his weapon and threaded his arm around a railing support. The other remaining humans reloaded their weapons and began to advance to the bulkhead. Dylan yelled down to them.

"BAAAACK! EVERYBODY BACK AND HANG ON TO SOMETHING!"

Krosso and her men slowed and then scrambled for spaces behind the stairwells and benches. Miranda crouched by Dylan, securing herself as he did.

"Oh, God; she isn't!" she griped.

Sliding and slamming sounds from moving panels echoed around them faintly and loudly, egging on stragglers to get to safety. The station's hatchways and vents were being reconfigured.

"She's insane!"

The barrier Miranda cast earlier faded out with one last swipe from the other side. Dylan crooked his arm tight and touched his earpiece.

"That's Hannah for you – NOW!"

The Husks began to come through the bulkhead again when suddenly a wind kicked up, increasing to high speed and volume, drawing them back through. The creatures struggled to climb back using parts of the broken wall and other clawing Husks only to fail and get sucked out. Others were hit by body parts or jetsam. Everyone in the room strained to keep from being swept out along with them. Miranda's hair whipped around wildly. Dylan gritted his teeth and strained. Then the winds and turbulence started to die down, more and more until the air was calm once more. A dull brown panel clanged down to seal up the bulkhead.

The doorways and vents around the base reoriented as the humans loosened their hold and wobbled upright, grateful that the struggle was over. Miranda cleared hair from her face and eyes, Dylan tending to her. She looked askew at his balding pate. Dylan was self-conscious as he smoothed it down.

"I'm sure that must've cost a few more hairs!"

Miranda delighted at his self-deprecating comment and then her expression changed to recognize something happening behind him. Dylan turned about and saw a panel a few feet away come loose and fall on to the walkway. A woman in combat armor began to emerge from a port in the wall, having found her way through the vents. Dylan and Miranda helped the woman down. As she found her footing, she retracted her helmet to reveal a late middle-aged woman with short brown hair.

Hannah Shepard.

"Damn, that was fun! Got the whole base on remote now," she said, rattling her omni-tool before them "Wanna go again?"

Dylan and Miranda vocalised and signed their refusal with raised hands. When asked about the remaining Husks, Hannah brought up a map of the station on her device to verify that they were all cast into space. Except for one; the large Husk Dylan discovered earlier appeared to be trapped in a vent.

Hannah complained "Aw, crap - always the one turd that just refuses to flush…! Well, he's not goin anywhere, the rest are spaced, which just leaves…"

Weapons were heard taking aim and locking in thermal clips. Hannah took on an annoyed look, blinked and jerked her thumb in the direction of Krosso and her men while still staring at Dylan.

"…them…"

"Okay, heroes! Down the steps nice n' easy!" commanded the lieutenant.

"Put your guns away!" ordered Dylan as he and his friends slowly came down the stairwell from the walkway and moved to the middle of the room. "We're all human here!"

Krosso directed her men to detain their rescuers, grasping their shoulders and pointing weapons to their sides. They were adorned in a mixture of Cerberus and assorted, unmarked armor plating, some with bandaged heads and arms. Including Krosso, only ten survived the last attack. The soldier handling Dylan spied an emblem on his armor, an inverted V with three stars in a triangle pattern underneath.

"He's with Systems Alliance!" she announced.

"Brilliant deduction," grumbled Krosso. She stepped up to Dylan until her face was an inch from his.

"What're ya doin' here, Alliance?"

Dylan responded evenly "We were in the neighborhood. Thought we be good Samaritans and give you guys a hand."

"Really? Well bless your bleedin' little hearts! You'll excuse me if I have some trust issues." Krosso examined his features more closely and then it dawned on her who he was. Her superior had referenced him every now and again.

"I know you... you're Commander Shepard's father. You were all over the news coupla years ago…" Krosso's voice became louder and mocking "Big man here really went to pieces when he lost his little baby!"

Dylan stood unflinching. Hannah motioned towards Krosso, her guard holding her back. "Lay into him again… and I swear to God, I will RIP you in half!"

A soldier standing further away had an epiphany. "Aw, Jesus; I knew she looked familiar!" he cried out "That's Hannah Shepard! Her mother…!

His eyes darted about to Dylan, then to Miranda and back to Hannah. His teammates watched as he pointed an arm to each of them in a growing panic.

"Shepard's… shit! Her whole god damn family's here!"

Krosso spun about. "Barnes! Relent!"

Barnes choked back a gasp and pointed to Hannah again "She CAPTAINS a DREADNOUGHT!"

Murmurs and whispers went through the gathering as they came to understand his implications. Krosso snapped to Hannah. At her directive, the guards about Miranda and Hannah backed down along with rest of the group.

"That's right – puugghh!" Hannah puffed in imitation of an explosion, passing her hand in front of her, flexing her fingers. She lit up her omni-tool and shook it to further demonstrate that her squad was in control now. Dylan capitalized on Hannah's opening.

"Our gripe is with your boss, not you." he told Krosso "You can come along with us or you can take your chances with him. Your odds aren't looking very good right now."

"Our odds'll be worse if we shack up with you," said the lieutenant defiantly.

"We're fighting for our lives out there! Yours, too! And you're gonna keep taking orders from him? You're supposed to be about defending humanity… it could use your help right now!"

"Not with your kid leading the charge! She's a damn trouble magnet; everyone's gunning for her!"

"She's been fighting these Reapers from the beginning. She's looking for a way to stop them. She needs us! All of us!"

"C'mon, lieutenant! Let's just go with 'em!" Barnes pleaded in favor of Dylan, wanting to leave the station as much as the unconscious Officer Pierce did. Barnes tried to get in more words in edgewise.

"We help Shepard... we help Shepard and we are ALL… SCREWED!" dismissed Krosso, still fixed on Dylan. "…you saw for yourself…"

"What did you see?" Dylan pressed.

"There's a lot more goin' on than you think, Captain." warned Krosso.

"No, no, don't tell 'em! They'll waste us!" Barnes desperately tried to keep his commander silent.

"Tell us what?" Hannah continued.

"What did the Illusive Man show you?" demanded Miranda as she came forward to side with Dylan along with Hannah.

Krosso puffed in disbelief at the triumvirate "The Illusive Man?"

There was a loud rumble as the floor beneath them shook, knocking all off balance. As they regained their footing, the rumbling and pounding became rhythmic. A few soldiers aimed at the floor ready to open fire. Something was pushing its way up to them. Hannah brought up her omni-tool and locked in on a vector graphic of their section with a large red signal underneath.

"Mega Zombie's loose!" she screamed.

The metal paneling on the floor sparked and erupted as a ghastly behemoth broke through with a chilling bellow, sending Barnes and other soldiers falling backwards. The Alpha Husk took up about half the room easily, resembling an overgrown, mutated mixture of krogan, asari and batarian with mottled brown-grey skin and an overdeveloped upper torso stomping about on squat stumps for legs. Dylan and Miranda scrambled back up the nearby stairwell to higher ground with Hannah. The last of the human holdouts tried to crawl away or fire their weapons only to be crushed underfoot or flung into the walls. Krosso un-holstered her shotgun and circled the front of the monster, pumping rounds into its chest. The Husk flailed backwards from the shot impacts. The instant Krosso stopped to eject a spent thermal clip, it struck back. It raised its massive claw hand and squashed her into the floor, her bones shattering audibly.

Having killed off everyone on the lower floor, the creature now pursued the three humans on the walkway bordering the room. Its four glowing blue eyes sighting them, the humans dodged its fist plowing into the wall behind them as they ran. Hannah called out to Miranda and Dylan to take positions around the Husk with Miranda at the center point. The beast now zeroed in on Miranda. Hannah drew her Falcon rifle and shot out one of its eyes causing it to shriek, luring it away. Dylan neared the spot where the Husk damaged the wall and fired at its head with his own Phalanx pistol to get its attention. Hannah stopped on the walkway opposite him and fired again.

Confused by the back and forth between the Alliance soldiers, Miranda shouted over her comset. "What are you doing?"

Hannah gritted in between shots "Getting it… to put its back to you!"

Miranda guessed at her strategy "But I've never tried with anything this big before!"

"Don't slam it… float it! We can get underneath and skewer the bastard!"

"With what?" cried Dylan as he loaded up another clip. He fired a round that scraped the Husk's nasal opening as it lumbered to Hannah's end of the room, compelling it to lean back and turn towards him. It now faced completely away from Miranda. Hannah signaled to her biotic teammate.

"Do it, Miranda!"

Miranda drew in a large breath and a blue glow swirled about her. She tensed as she put her arms out to envelop the creature in dark energy fields. Slowly the Alpha was lifted into the air, screeching and thrashing in vain against the forces that seized it. Hannah and Dylan dodged and ducked its wild swings. Crouching low, he crawled to the stairwell while minding his head and scanned for things that could impale the Husk.

"I think I see something," he broadcast "But the thing's swinging too wild!"

"Dammit!" Hannah cursed as she holstered her rifle and climbed up onto the railing. She bent her knees and then leapt onto the Alpha's back, bracing its very short neck.

"HANNAAAH!" Dylan screamed.

Miranda gasped at the dreadnought captain's valiant, foolhardy charge but kept the Alpha suspended in the air. "…Hannah… Hurry…" she moaned as fatigue set in.

The Husk tried to swat her off its back, having trouble reaching her but Hannah held on tight. Its attention diverted, Dylan scrambled downstairs, sidestepping corpses, and positioned a few bent floor panels beneath. Hannah made sure she had a firm hold then aimed her left fist at the Alpha's head. Her omni-blade flashed to life and pierced its skull. The Husk cried in agony as Hannah repeatedly stabbed, spraying black fluid on her.

Dylan finished setting up and ran to safety. "I'm clear! Drop it!"

Miranda raised her arms and swung them down as she released her hold of the Alpha. The entire room rattled as it hit the floor kicking up dust and debris, the upturned floor panels placed by Dylan tearing into it. Gurgling and snorting, it squirmed, inhaled and then expelled its last breath. Still holding tightly, Hannah opened one eye and looked around. Both her eyes opened as she stumbled and then pulled herself upright on the back of the dead Alpha. She was met by a marveling Dylan and Miranda coming down the stairwell. Miranda was slightly dizzy from exertion. Hannah smiled proudly, caked in black ink, and pointed to the massive body.

"Through the head… only proven, effective way to kill a zombie!"

"Ohhhgh, the head... I can identify with that feeling," said Miranda, groggily rubbing her temple "You wouldn't happen to have any medication on you for this, would you Dylan?"

Dylan shrugged and met his wife's gaze "Sorry; used up my last pill coping with the missus!"

"Heh... heh... heh…" squinted Hannah, her head pivoting about. She reached up to wipe off some muck that began to run into an eye and flicked it off her hand.

Krosso gasped painfully on the floor, coughing up blood as her eyes snapped open. Miranda sprinted over to check on her. Dylan cautioned not to move her as he knelt beside the fallen lieutenant and ran a medical scan with his own omni-tool.

"She's too far gone," he pronounced somberly, switching off his device "We can't help her…"

Krosso labored to move her hand to Dylan, her eyes to the ceiling. She grazed the search and rescue captain's arm and clenched it.

"….sh-sh-Shepaaard… it's… not him… It's… not… sh-Shep…"

Her grip loosened and her hand slid to the ground. Lieutenant Krosso was dead. The three survivors ruminated over what she was trying to tell them as Hannah brought up her station map again. A lone human blip was in the office of the Illusive Man.

"I know who we can ask…"

A man, covered head to foot in Cerberus armor, was seated in the dim office chamber with a blue star shining through its large, wide viewport. He punched in commands to a virtual console, making a rectangular block with a segmented neon band near its top - a server bank - rise up from the reflective floor a few feet in front of the chair. The man then rose from the chair to walk over when the hiss of the chamber entrance surprised him. He grabbed his pistol from his side, spun around and fired towards the floor. Miranda jumped out of the floor entrance, dodging the first shot. Hannah's kinetic barrier absorbed the next few as she blocked her face. Miranda summoned her biotics to wrestle away the pistol and toss the armored man against the server block. Dylan pulled something from his side, placed it in the barrel of his Phalanx, aimed at the man and fired. A spinning drill bit dug into the man's right shoulder before he could get up. His helmet muffled his screaming as the drill penetrated his armor, then his flesh as it pinned him to the block. Soon the drill stopped. The man panted and grabbed its exposed end as Dylan poised above him with Miranda and Hannah at either side of him. Miranda recognized the drill as one of Cerberus' more insidious interrogation tools.

"Should I ask where you got that?" asked Miranda of the usually even-tempered med tech.

"No," was his curt answer as he kneeled beside the impaled man. The man's head bobbed upwards, recuperating from the pain of his injury.

"I think we can dispense with introductions," said Dylan "We know who you are… and you know damn well who we are!" He raised his right hand to show the remote control for the torture device.

"Grant one simple request… and we just might let you walk."

Dylan leaned closer with the remote by his face.

"Call off… your dogs..."

The man began to shudder and rasp. Dylan could not believe what he was hearing. Even with a pierced shoulder, through his pain, the armored man was actually laughing at him.

He grabbed the man's helmet angrily and pulled it off "Maybe you didn't hear me through this thing – I said…"

The man's helmet bounced twice on the floor and roiled on its side. Cold dread filled Dylan's being. The only sound in the chamber was the man's wheezing laughter. Miranda's eyes went wide.

"It's not him… who is he?"

Instead of Miranda's former superior, on the floor before them was a balding man in his seventies with a grizzled, ashen beard, piercing dark eyes, sunken cheeks and a squared jaw. The little hair he still had was bound up in back. His face overall gave the impression of chalked granite, his sneer simultaneously seeping contempt and satisfaction at seeing an old associate of his again.

"…Marcus…" Hannah whispered.

Dylan steadied himself on the server bank with his free hand "…General Dienz…"

"GOD how I missed the old you!" said Marcus with relish. He reviewed Dylan and his companions. "Heh heh heh… Hail, hail… the gang's all here!"

He grinned upwards at his tormentor.

"Welcome back to the party, Dylan…"

End of Part I

Author's Notes and Thoughts:

- IFF: Identify Friend/Foe – signal similar to what the Collectors used in _Mass Effect 2_ to safely travel through the Omega Relay

- The title of the story was inspired by the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone, which tells of the goddess of the harvest (Demeter) and her quest to rescue her daughter Persephone from the clutches of Hades. Much like Hannah, she had abandoned her duty for family. And soon Hannah will discover that Cadrina, like Persephone, has been corrupted.

- The name Krosso for the Cerberus lieutenant was taken from the game _No Gravity: The Plague of Mind. _It's the race that the player represents in its space battles.

- In every war movie, it seems like there is always some soldier named Kowalski in the platoon or company. So I threw one into this story as a joke, only this time out Kowalski is female.

- Powers Boothe's appearance in _Sin City_ (minus his character's Illusive Man-eque eyes) inspired Dylan Shepard's former commanding officer Marcus Dienz

Coming soon: Part II - Corruption


	2. Corruption

II

Marcus Dienz had all but given up on seeing his old protégé once again. To find him here, inside the innermost sanctum of Cerberus, was a gift beyond measure. And he intended to savor and take advantage of every moment of this reunion.

"How does it feel? Was it just like you remember? All your sense-s firing, the feel of the gun in your hands, scoping your targets. The pull of the trigger as you become one with the fates, passing final judgment upon the wick-ed..."

The old general could see that his words stabbed and twisted inside Dylan. He plunged deeper into the wound, drawling and seething.

"You were a great soldier, Dylan; one of the best. Could've even been the first human Spectre yourself if you kept at it. When you're that good, the training never really leaves you… so how's that little fam-ily of yours –?"

Dylan pressed down on his remote and cut off Dienz's gloating. Dienz yelled out and gritted as he instinctively grabbed and pulled at the drill although he could not remove it. Dylan released the remote button.

"Good seeing you, too… sir!" he spat. "Where's the Illusive Man?"

Dienz managed a smirk through his pain "That is –such- a ri-diculous name… Jack always had a flair for theatrics…"

"WHERE IS HE?"

"GONE… Dylan! Disappeared and left every-thing behind! Tell me… why are you looking for him now?"

Hannah drew her Phalanx pistol "That's none of your fucking business, Marcus!"

Dienz acknowledged the dreadnought captain "Ahhh, Hannah… as lovely and as fiery as ever." He seemed to have no fear of the woman training a weapon on him that could scatter his skull about the chamber with one shot. He cocked his head to one side "I remember long ago when I sooo wanted you to be mine…"

"In your sick imagination, maybe! I was never yours!"

"No, you were no-t. You repaid my loving attentions with a kick in the nuts. But Dylan, he found the way to your heart. He was gooood like that, an artist. Back in the day, the mind was his medium. He could size you up; exploit your weak-nesses. He could do far greater damage with words than a frigate could do with TAC missiles!"

Hannah's eyes winced but her arm did not waver. Her husband glanced back at her hoping she was not reading too much into Dienz's taunts. Dylan's former life in black operations was lies and deception, but his love for her and their child was always true.

"That's what made him perfec-t for my team, our new team. He was young, moldable but bright and innovative, a counterweight to our more traditional method-s. He... became the third and final head… of the feared guardian of the Underworld!"

Miranda breathed out in astonishment at Dylan "…you helped create Cerberus…"

Hannah's grip on her Phalanx shook "Bullshit! You're lying… tell me he's lying!"

All Dylan could do at that moment was lower his eyes and swallow hard, placing his remote on the floor. The one dread secret he had hoped to keep was out in the open. When he first allied himself with Marcus Dienz in his more naïve days to form the mercenary group, he had no inkling of the heights of power it would reach and the depths of depravity it would sink to in the years to come. Hannah began to tremble from Dylan's silent admission and lowered her pistol. They risked their careers and their lives to help their daughter only to be confronted with the dark truth that the father helped sire the current bane of Cadrina Shepard's existence. Miranda gained new insight into why Dylan had been kind to her, protecting her from his wife's initial ire. He also sought redemption for his life with Cerberus and saw within Miranda a kindred spirit. She saw him mustering all he had to steel himself and could empathize with the regret and remorse that even half a lifetime in his current service of rescue technician could not fully placate. It forced her to look back on her own reasons for going on this mission and what she intended to do when it was finally completed.

Dienz absorbed the atmosphere of shock and misery amongst his captors with gusto.

"Now, don't you fret none, Hannah" Dienz winked and sucked his teeth "He's innocent. He left before the real fun started. Before the 'Illu-sive Mannn' took over everything. We were much smaller then, less… publi-c. Like the Spectres, we brought down those who would threaten our country's interests and security when officials couldn't be bothered to get their hand-s dirty. We devoured the flesh and left no trace. We kept the dead and the past bur-ie-d. But then one day… Dylan wanted out, got a taste for a new life. And he got out! He left a hole that was nigh im-possible to plug up. I could never find another mentalist like him, so I had to settle for a patrio-t instead… Jack… Harper..."

"… AKA Illusive Man," Dylan added, trying to regain control of the situation. "Looks like he outsmarted you too, Dienz!"

"HE WAS NEVER SMART!" Dienz grated through his teeth." …somehow he got smar-t!"

Dylan hit a raw spot in the general. Cerberus was the brainchild of Marcus Dienz, but the beast was no longer his to control and he spent the next several years plotting to take it back. Dylan remembered the one other occasion Dienz confronted him in person since their tumultuous parting to try to convince him to return. Dylan had used his meager network of well-placed informants and personal knowledge of key assassinations and operations to keep Dienz at bay. He checked in on his dealings from time to time, but it was never his intention to return, take leadership or undermine Dienz's activities in any way. Dylan Shepard simply did not want to carry on as an operative anymore. He just wanted to be left alone.

"After the First Contact War, something chan-ged in him," Dienz explained "Jack kept going on about an impending alien threat that humanity was ill prepared for. Insisted we expand our operations, work to evolve humans and create an army to meet the invaders head on. We dismissed him as a rambler – the turians were restrained by the Council and there was no evidence at the time of any looming threa-t. But he was a crafty son-of-a-bitch! He gathered his own little cadre of sympathizers, just like you did, Dylan. He started to take over, slowly, quietly. When we finally got wind, he stood up proud and tall before us and said that we had outlived our useful-ness. Our services… MY SERVICES… were no longer required. Brannock and I wouldn't stand for that; he knew we wouldn't. So Jack the Illusive Man flexed his new muscle-s… made an example of Brannock."

"I know… 'Accidents can be your friends,'" Dylan recalled one of Dienz's old adages. Through his private sources, he learned that Colonel Gabriel Brannock, the other head of the early Cerberus, was investigating element zero traffic that the Illusive Man was suspected of re-routing only to end up killed in a collision with a cargo transport hauling a shipment to a fledgling human colony.

"He left me alive, powerless…" Dienz continued "Out of respect for my being 'the first father' of his new empire. I was relegated to a desk, completely cut off. One step out of line and I was dea-d!"

"You had to have seen reports, heard rumors of the artifacts being discovered," Miranda interrupted. "Illusive Man is obsessed and manipulative, but he's no fool. He saw the danger long before anyone else did. The Reapers will destroy every last living thing… including those in your be-loved country. But you don't really care, do you? You only saw this war as an opportunity. Your only concern was revenge!"

Dienz cast his glare upon Miranda and wheezed out a chuckle that gave her chills; he gave the impression that he knew quite a few things about her as well.

"Aren't yooou… the insight-ful one?" he grinned. "Yes, I had to bide my time, wait for an opening. I couldn't be bothere-d with theories and speculation. My 'concerns' were Cerberus and Harper, seeing how well his ef-forts to build his "army" were coming along. It was quite easy to get your father's support once you signed up with the new outfit. We had both been wronged by the Illusive Man. Your father... was extreeemely helpful in assembling a new team committed to my cause. If Cerberus was to be the one to deliver humanity from darkness… it would do so under its RIGHTFUL leader-ship!"

Miranda rued speaking out of turn. She went to Cerberus volunteering her services and loyalty in exchange for protection from a wrathful father, to protect her sister as well. Miranda's father promptly withdrew his support for the organization, likely at Dienz's urging. She considered with trepidation what her father and the general may have agreed to do if she were encountered in the campaign to retake Cerberus. Was she to be brought back alive? Or was she to be eliminated along with Jack Harper as a traitor?

Dylan had risen and walked close to one side of Hannah, taking her shoulder. Miranda remained where she stood. They were a helpless audience cast in doubt, their bid for retribution denied. Dienz shifted in place still grasping the drill in his shoulder. They clearly wanted to learn what became of the Illusive Man, but there was not much time left; Dienz needed to finish. He imagined what looks of horror or anguish their faces would contort into with what he was about to reveal next.

"So, with everybody focused on the Reapers, my team and I made final preparations for a sneak attac-k. We had already captured a Cerberus agent, a cell leader with base schematics and a very uni-que piece of equipment, a quantum entanglement communicator. Direct line to central headquarters, untraceable; a prize find but useless since we couldn't exactly eavesdrop with it. And then suddenly… fortune smiled. An alert came through on the communicator; a class one, all hands on deck emergency! Headquarters was under siege by the undead forces the Reapers whipped up and they were calling for reinforce-ment-s. I thought it might well be a trap, but if true… it was better than I hoped. We would charge in to the rescue, gain the allegiance of some of Harper's people… and then make an example of him to the rest!"

"As you've seen on your way here," Dienz went on "It was chaos. We fought to within an inch to secure any ground we could. The flesh eaters were coming in on ships they'd hijacked, so we blew them out of the stars. Nineteen hours after we arrived, we repulsed the first wave. I had prevailed. Turns out I didn't have to work so hard to gain trust. Jack Harper had abandoned them, sold them out to the Reapers. They said he was indoctrinated, hypnotized into obeying them. It didn't matter; so long as he was out of the way. He didn't even bother to wipe his servers. Like it didn't matter anymore who else might go browsing through his data. I quickly set up shop and got up to speed, to see if anything in there confirmed field reports, shared my findings with the others… he's been a bus-y little bastard… and he has such plans for your daughter, Dylan!"

Dylan spoke for his wife and himself "He brought her back so she could go after the Reapers and salvage their technology for himself." He declared with pride "His scheme blew up on him. She told us everything..."

"Did sheee?" drawled Dienz, pausing a moment to take in the pulse of uncertainty in Dylan's face his utterance caused. He looked back to Miranda.

"Want to fill him in on what dear Cadrina left out or should I? After all… you were the head of Project Lazarus!"

Miranda cringed, the eyes of her commander's parents wounding her inside. Dienz took great pleasure in the new misery he was inflicting on them and he had only just begun.

"Ah, didn't tell you that, did she? Two years under this test tube beauty's watchful eyes. This wench, who wanted a control chip jammed into your daughter's brain! Jack… had something else in mind..."

Miranda began to wilt even more under everyone's scrutiny.

"Your little Cadrina… is the key to finding and restoring a prothean mind control wea-pon. Jack had reams of notes and writings from the scientist that built it-t, assorted prophecy and other mumbo jum-bo. But this Interface weapon… Jack's no fool, all right! Reaper indoctrination is amateur hour compared to this thing: the ability to reach in the minds of multitudes, the span of the entire galaxy, to make your will their ac-tion. No pain, no struggle, your thoughts are their thoughts. Think them dead and they will be. The ultimate wet dream of psych warfare, Dylan! And Cadrina Shepard will make it possible! See, Jack made some… modifications while she was on the slab with the help of an unwitting aide, a nutrient IV and some nanite-s. Neurokinetic taps: microscopic, bleeding-edge tech, far more elegant than a control chip. Oooh, it's beautiful. They're lined throughout her nervous system. When Jack flips the switch, the Alliance's Angel will be a pup-pet on a string. She can shout to the hills, but she'll only be along for the ride. Seems this Interface can only be used by her, will only recognize her thought patterns. And through her… Jack will wipe out the Reapers and then take control of us all. All the races of the galaxy at his command. From womb to tomb, from generation to generation…. for all eter-nity..."

Hannah and Dylan were dumbstruck and could not bring themselves to speak or move. What more would Dienz reveal of his exploration through the Illusive Man's classified data? Silent tears flowed from Miranda, her kinship with her commander's family in peril of coming undone.

"Aww, I'm so sorry, my dear. I just remembered: Jack never told you any of this. Might have affected the fine work you were doing. You were so tender, so loving to Cadrina, making sure everything was per-fect. Making sure she came back ex-actly as she once was. It must have been quite a rewarding experience to restore life to her, to see her up and about again saving the galaxy… the closest you would ever come… to being a mo-ther!"

Dienz spared no one, trying to drive wedges between them. Even knowing about Miranda's secret pain of infertility, yet another denial of the chance to live her life as a regular human being, even if she and her offspring would enjoy certain genetic advantages. Miranda's rage threatened to overwhelm her; she wanted nothing more than to tear out the old man's leering grin along with his heart. But that honor should be reserved for Dylan, she determined. If anything, General Dienz should only suffer. Make him endure double the pain he so eagerly doled out. Miranda drew her Phalanx and fired a round into Dienz's right leg. Dylan called out to her, his lower half dotting with the general's blood. Hannah's countenance flickered in silent approval of her action. Dienz's eyes squeezed shut as he grunted loudly.

"Let's just leave, Dylan!" Miranda choked out, lowering her pistol "Let the bastard bleed out! There's nothing more here; let's just leave...!"

Dylan was torn between wanting to comfort Miranda and remaining with his wife. Hannah watched as Miranda gasped and sniffled, placing her hand where Dylan rested his. She stroked it gently, giving her consent. Dylan released Hannah's shoulder and went to Miranda, gently taking her shoulders and trying to coax her into his arms to show that in spite of all that was said, she had no reason to fear or expect hatred. Miranda hesistated, then allowed herself to be cradled, shutting out thoughts of Dienz's venom. She could feel Dylan's breath upon her forehead as her head and hand settled on his chest, exorcising the last of her heartache. Miranda was grateful for his gesture. What she never received from her own father, she was being given by another.

It was Hannah's turn to question the general, risking another verbal bombshell. A nagging suspicion had grown inside her, but she wanted confirmation. She wanted to hear it straight from Dienz's lips.

"Why didn't you go after him, Marcus?" Hannah stomped her foot to get his attention "HUH? You'd be part of Jack's puppet show, too..."

"I told you…" he groaned "He wants to bring down the Reapers… but they're also working their own mojo on him… he's probably... pretending to cozy up… while he's tracking your daughter… sneaky shit… built himself a little army after all… QE lines to secret cells of shock troopers… probably for extreme emergencies… he hadn't deployed them yet… we were spread too thin…going after him was out of – AAAAUGGGH…! GOD…DAMMI - GGGAAAGHH!"

Hannah discharged her own pistol into Dienz's abdomen. She then dropped down and picked up Dylan's drill remote and jammed its switch. The drill spun at full speed as she grasped it, twisting and turning it in Dienz's shoulder, shorting it out. Hannah squeezed hard on his neck as he wailed in agony. Miranda and Dylan ran over and pulled Hannah away, holding her arms as she tried to kick free, screaming.

"YOU FUCKING COWARD – YOU SENT THEM! YOU SENT THEM AFTER HER!"

Dienz coughed violently, grasping and rubbing his throat. Dylan held Hannah's shoulders tightly and shook her, urging her to calm down. Miranda, now more composed, cupped the back of Hannah's neck gently. She also held her hand and squeezed. Hannah squirmed against Dylan's grip but then complied. Her breaths became steadier. Miranda forced a smile that quickly melted away when she caught a glint of fire in Hannah's gaze at her. Dylan needed to have his companions sufficiently occupied while he settled his affairs with the bitter general.

"Hannah, listen to me… Hannah! Start - start uploading as much data as you can to the shuttle's server banks. Miranda… I want you to help her…"

Miranda bobbed her head in the affirmative.

"He sent them to kill our baby, Dyl!" Hannah mewled.

"I-I know... Get to the chair, start cracking the server. He's my garbage. I'll deal with him…"

Hannah slid away from Dylan to sit in the Illusive Man's old control chair, calling up a holgrammatic display. Miranda stood over her shoulder to provide assistance and support as she was directed. Dylan stood over his former comrade-in-arms once more.

"You never stop, do you? My wife! Me! And now CADY!"

"Lisssten, you… sh-sh-shi-t…!" Dienz strained, bleeding from his wounds "Jack'ssss… sui-cide…! You'd be killed… In-indoctrinated… or turned inta one of these…things…!"

More anger bled into Dylan's face but he remained in control "Much as I'd love to see you burn… my offer still stands. Recall the troops and I'll let you drag your sorry ass out of this wreck! Which is more than you deserve!"

"C-c-can't… My…my orders were explicit… I… I showed them as well… the truth… they won't stop… till they're all dead… or she is...! She... mustn't… find it, Dylan!"

"Cady's got a brilliant scientist friend; he can remove the transmitters!"

"Toooo... ex-tensive… irr-irreversible… she… she has to die…"

As Dylan clutched Dienz's collar and prepared to strike him, the bulkheads in the chamber walls shivered and whined loudly.

"…j-just like you… Dylan…!"

Hannah switched on a view of the station's sensor net. As she typed in instructions and whipped her hand through screens, Miranda consulted the preliminary readings. The station was in the grip of a gravity wake, but they were too far from the system's sun for that to be the cause.

"It's not the sun's gravity," said Miranda "The station's not moving. Something's moving towards us... "

Dienz coughed again in grim amusement while Dylan lowered his fist.

"You only stopped… the second wave… you ... you should never have come here…It…has been… a truuue plea-surre - heh hah haah...! _Third's one the charrrm!_"

Dylan looked back to his wife and Miranda at the control chair. They were motionless, their faces pale against the orange glow of the holoscreens. An image on the main screen had them transfixed. The large, squid-like outline was unmistakable.

"Dylan...!" Miranda cried out "It's a Reaper!"

End of Part II

Author's Notes and Thoughts:

- In _Mass Effect 2_, when you hang around Joker on the _Normandy_ long enough, one of the random things he'll say is "Cerberus… three headed dog… wonder why it's only run by one guy?"

- General Marcus Dienz… If you've seen _Sin City_, then you're familiar with Powers Boothe's role as Senator Roarke and his snarling delivery of his lines, which I tried to capture in Dienz. If the Illusive Man is suave, methodical and patient, Dienz is his antithesis: a drooling, angry dog out for blood, using the last few moments of his life to lash out at everyone in sight.

- In the comic _Mass Effect: Evolution_, Jack Harper (Illusive Man) was hit with a jolt from an artifact, likely of Reaper origin, which not only gave him visions of the coming invasion but also the ability to speak and understand other non-human languages. It's safe to assume that it may have boosted his overall intellect as well.

- QE – Quantum Entanglement

- In the _Lair of the Shadow Broker_ DLC, you get access to confidential information on your teammates on SB's ship. Miranda's file shows a doctor's test results confirming her sterility as a side effect of her genetic engineering as well as her failed efforts to find a suitable companion

Coming soon, the conclusion - Part III: Reap What you Sow


	3. Reap What You Sow

III

Dylan loosened his grip. So caught up in facing Dienz again and dealing with the hurt he brought upon Hannah and Miranda, Dylan did not even consider that his old cohort knew about the Reaper's approach and was stalling for time. To have them join him in death.

"It's got our scent now… how far… how long… do you think you can run…?"

Dylan called out to his squad "Both of you get to the shuttle…NOW!"

Hannah began to close up the holoscreens when Miranda directed her attention to a data file, an audio recording that was marked and indexed to several other files. It appeared to be from Dr. Charles Wilson of Project Lazarus whom Miranda had killed when she learned he sabotaged the space station where Cadrina Shepard was housed with the intent to kill her. Miranda handed over Wilson's body and his effects without examining them, leaving it to other Cerberus agents to investigate why he would suddenly try to scuttle two years of his own work. Miranda successfully persuaded Hannah to save this last piece of intelligence before they logged off and started for the floor entrance only to turn and look to the general's direction, realizing Dylan wasn't with them. He had armed his pistol and was aiming at Dienz's forehead.

"Yes… " Dienz growled "I want you… to end me… take your revenge… you'll finally be rid of me… do it… shoot me…"

Dylan stood above the general repeatedly tensing and relaxing his finger around the trigger.

"Shoot me, Dylan…! Just shoot me….! Shoot me! SHOOT… ME! DO IT! EVERYONE ELSE HAS!"

Dylan wanted very much to oblige Dienz, only doing so would violate a promise he made to never again take a life, especially in cold blood. It would not absolve his complicity in Cerberus or the rift he created that allowed the Illusive Man to take control. Liberating Earth from the Reapers should have taken priority for the general; he was the last thing Dylan expected to find during this operation. Miranda crept closer to give support while Hannah waited on the entrance ramp. Dylan had little recourse but to confront his past one last time, to destroy what remained of the monster he helped create. But not here with Dienz; not by his hand. Dylan squeezed hard on the grip of his Phalanx pistol and willed it back to his side.

"No," he stammered "No… I won't kill you… and I won't save you."

Dienz began to whimper "Pleaaase…. I can't die like this…."

Marcus Dienz, who had feared no human, non-human or even death in the service of his country and species, feared dying impotent and alone. Knowing how the Reapers repurposed the dead terrified him more.

"I don't want them… to take my body…. I want to die… while I'm still… human… I want to die human… human… h-h-hu-m-man…"

Broken, defeated and sitting in a pool of his blood, the general dissolved into tears, sobbing as Dylan looked upon him. No pity was shown him by anyone.

"To think… I used to be afraid of you… goodbye, General…" were his last words before he turned towards the chamber entrance. He passed by Miranda as she sat in the chair and reactivated its screens.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he observed her bringing the station's weapons systems on line, stepping closer "Miranda, come on… They won't even dent it!"

"They may slow it down, keep it occupied while we escape on the shuttle," she explained.

Hannah called out "I can activate 'em by remote, remember? And _Sunday Punch_ can really slow it down while it's munching on the station! Now, let's get the hell outta here!"

The walls resounded again and the whole of the station shuddered. Dylan lost his balance momentarily and used the back of Miranda's seat to steady himself. Miranda seized the opportunity and jammed her elbow into his gut, stunning him. She then biotically threw him into Hannah, knocking them both down into the entrance. She spun a holo-dial on the display and tapped it, causing the entrance to close up. Another command sent a high voltage through the door, fusing it shut. Hannah and Dylan scrambled to their feet and crouched against the clear plasteel door, pounding their fists on it, demanding that Miranda open it and leave with them. Miranda ignored their cries and programmed the targeting array to commence firing on the Reaper. The station rumbled with each shell that discharged at it. Hannah could not undo the damaged locks with her omni-tool; Miranda was effectively trapped inside…

_Jacob… Oriana… gone. Nothing left… nothing left now but my mistakes. I didn't know…I never questioned… I didn't even care how far he would go…_

As she brought up another command screen, her companions' voices began to force their way past the commotion and her thoughts. Miranda needed Hannah and Dylan to leave; the immense machine would overwhelm the station at any moment. She swiveled her chair to face the door.

"Miranda!" Hannah's muffled shouting could be heard through the door as she keyed her comset "You can use your biotics… you can take this door apart! Please! Or use the vents, but you have to go!"

"We're not leaving you behind! We need you!" added Dylan over their frequency. Miranda's preoccupied look on the shuttle flight in returned.

Hannah pleaded "Please…Miranda…! The woman who took our daughter… that's not who you are anymore! I was hard on you in the beginning… I'm sorry… I never said that I hated you!"

Miranda slowly rose from her chair and padded to the door. Hannah nodded furiously and waved her over with small motions of her hand, as if beckoning to a child. Miranda kneeled in front of the door and placed her hands on her lap. Hannah then motioned for her to force the door open, but Miranda would not comply. Her mouth hung open and drew a breath. Dylan knew what she was about to say; it registered in her eyes as she keyed her earpiece.

"It was never my intention… to go back with you… I'm sorry…"

Hannah pushed against the glass "Why? Why are you doing this?"

"Why?" Miranda quivered "…why…"

_Why was I made to be perfect, and yet have been so imperfect? Why couldn't I hold on to the two things that were most precious to me? Why couldn't I have seen then what Jack Harper truly was? Why did it have to be your daughter I was tasked with bringing back? _

Miranda pressed her hand firmly against the clear plasteel door. Hannah and Dylan placed their hands under hers, sharing in silent understanding.

_Why couldn't I have had a mother and father like you?_

They could have denied her outright, subjected Miranda to the same torture as Dienz or continue on their way but they did not. They cared for her, in spite of Miranda's past work with the Illusive Man to use Cadrina Shepard to serve Cerberus' ends. She had earned their daughter's friendship and trust. And she had theirs as well. Nonetheless, Miranda was resolved to her fate.

"Thank you… for your forgiveness… but that's something I don't have for myself…"

As her face faded back to stone, she permitted one last sentiment. They needed to remember why they came to this place.

"Save your daughter."

As the bulkheads rattled and groaned once again, Dylan pulled Hannah away from the door, urging her to escape the station with him before it became impossible. Miranda waited until they were out of sight before she returned to the chair. She typed furiously on the hologramatic console:

*/ACCEPT PRIORTY OVERRIDE CODE: RUBICON666

…

OVERRIDE ACKNOWLEDGED…

ACCESS GRANTED TO CERBERUS SEALED SYSTEM COMMAND LINE

Hannah swiftly navigated back through the maze of zero-gravity shafts with her husband in tow, helmets deployed and clearing debris from their path. They were halfway to the cargo bay…

0/ACCESS STATION SCUTTLE PROTOCOL: LEVEL III BREACH

PASSWORD: SHIVA

…

Miranda thought back to the moons of Palaven, where her old love Jacob Taylor lost his life when Husks stormed through the plaza she and Cadrina were trying to keep secured. She remembered Garrus trying to comfort her afterwards, thankful for her support, the sacrifices and efforts made to help his homeworld. Miranda thought she could sense a connection, although she denied it then. Nearing the end, she admitted her feelings for a non-human, a turian, that went beyond friendship…

LOGIN SUCCESSFUL…

SAFETIES DISENGAGING…

ANTI-MATTER ORDNANCE PRIMING…

The made-over shuttle was still waiting in the cargo bay undisturbed when Hannah and Dylan ran to it and punched its door release. Making sure that nothing had stowed away on board, Hannah closed up and got to her seat in the cockpit. Dylan switched on the flight console and energized the shuttle's drive core…

ORDNANCE ARMED

SPECIFY ACTIVATION TYPE (TIME DELAY/REMOTE DETONATOR):

Miranda finalized the station's destruct protocol as she remembered searching the casualty manifests from the initial attack on Earth. She cross indexed them with her sister Oriana's family travel plans, which included a stop in Oslo, Norway to visit her foster parent's relatives. It was one of the first cities to be completely decimated by the Reapers.

No survivors could be found…

0/REMOTE DETONATOR

…

REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGED

DEVICE ENABLED – COLLECT FROM PORT IN FRONT OF CONSOLE

The shuttle's launch cycle started as Hannah strapped herself in. Dylan did not wait for the bay doors to open completely; he engaged the main thrusters and the shuttle blasted into space. He steered and banked, making certain to keep the crumbling Cerberus space station between him and the Reaper's line of sight. Yellow pulses from the station's guns could be seen as the shuttle accelerated…

A small opening formed just in front of Miranda's chair and an object resembling an inverted silver metal teardrop was elevated upon a thin black rod. Miranda traced her finger along Dylan's flight path on the sensor net grid, relieved that he and his wife would be out of harm's way.

"Go…"

She then bent down to pick up the detonator. It was completely smooth save for the single large, blue light-rimmed button on top. Palming it, Miranda stared at the device. Then the station's further warping under the Reaper's gravity wake made her look upwards at where the injured general lay. Bright beams began to shine down and pass about the Illusive Man's office through the viewport. She could discern Marcus Dienz in the play of light and shadow, lips drawn into a maniacal grin, having been loosed from sanity and consciousness. Looking further upwards, the Reaper loomed large and imposing, drawing ever closer, its gleaming black segmented plating bordered by an orange and white glow. Its kinetic barriers shrugged off incoming cannon fire with no signs of weakening; its tendrils undulated and demolished any cannons within reach in a further show of superiority. The whole of the office chamber buzzed and vibrated at the mercy of the Old Machine.

Miranda drew herself to her full height and stepped further away from the control console. She showed no fear and no longer lamented. She stopped directly underneath the Reaper and emitted the strongest biotic field she could summon, floating free of the reflective floor. Miranda still needed to focus the Reaper's attention solely on her, allow Hannah and Dylan to gain more distance. The guns had served their purpose and were now either destroyed or depleted of ammunition. The Reaper raised two of its largest tentacles and thrust them downwards into the station on either side of the chamber, cracking the glass viewport. Miranda maintained her field as the Reaper's voice thundered inside her head:

(**INSECT - YOUR EFFORTS ARE FUTILE! THERE IS NO ESCAPE! WHAT DID YOU THINK YOU COULD DO AGAINST US?**)

Miranda shut her eyes and drew three increasingly large breaths, counting down to inevitability. She exhaled a final, long draft and raised her detonator. Her eyes snapped open to the Reaper above. Miranda whispered her answer, her sentence, before her thumb pushed down on the button…

"…burn…"

Dylan steadied the attitude of the shuttle, now moving beyond the range of the sensor net. He threw a switch above his head to a transponder, alerting the _Orizaba _of its captain's return. Suddenly the field of stars in his view became an enveloping bright white that poured into the cockpit. The shuttle rattled and tumbled out of control as Hannah accessed the life support systems on her side and her husband fought to regain control. Warning lights and tones were active. The shuttle pitched and yawed violently, but Dylan managed to get the shuttle back on course. Hannah was able to rebalance the cockpit atmosphere settings and cancelled the alerts. The radio crackled to life as the brightness outside faded to black.

"…_SV Orizaba_ to Shuttle 3, _Orizaba_ to Shuttle 3! Captain Shepard, do you copy?"

Getting her bearings, Hannah answered, still squinting from the light "_Orizaba_, this is Shepard! I'm still here!"

"We're monitoring an immense explosion centered on the enemy's location…"

"Really, Kendrick? Do you have anything else?" Hannah's elbow propped on an armrest, her fingers pushed into her forehead.

"…confirmed, we have a Reaper energy signature, reading at 86 percent... drop-ping to 71 percent…. 43 percent… 28… 19… 4… signal's gone…. looks like you got it."

"…hallelujah…"

"We have you on scanners - we can bring you in on auto."

"Copy, _Orizaba," _said Dylan, keying in a sequence "Transferring control now. Bring us in smooth."

"Certainly… Must have been one hell…"

"We'll debrief after we're on board Kendrick. Thank you." Hannah interrupted.

"I'll have a med team meet you in the docking bay…"

"That'll be all, Commander; Shuttle 3 out!" Hannah switched off the radio and massaged the bridge of her nose "Damn home-schooled officers…"

Dylan snorted involuntarily in his seat and crossed his arms, looking blankly at the flight console, no longer flying the shuttle. Minutes went by with no words between him and Hannah, only the hum of the drive core. Reviewing everything that happened, he exhaled audibly every so often. On Dylan's fourth breath, Hannah looked to him.

"I am going with you." she stated with authority, sensing what he planned to do next.

"No, you are not," Dylan corrected, eyes still on the flight console.

"We are in this together. You need me."

"I need you back on your ship, alongside Cady."

"Going after Harper… alone?"

"I'll stand a better chance."

"Chance of what? Dying?"

Dylan turned to face her. "I can handle myself!"

"I'm not losing you…"

"You won't lose me, Hannah…"

"We both do this…"

"You're staying!"

"I won't lose you…"

"Hannah!"

"LIKE I LOST MIRANDA!"

Dylan clasped her forearm firmly with both hands, her hand draped over them.

"…we lost Miranda…" Hannah panted, her lower jaw twitching. Dylan rubbed and massaged her gloved fingers, attempting to comfort her.

"I… am coming… back!" he promised. "I should have stopped them years ago… but all I wanted then was out…! I –have- to do this…" It was wasted effort for Hannah to get her husband to reconsider. Dylan swallowed "The alternative…"

Hannah averted her eyes to the deck "Dyl… I can't live without either of you. But if you… can't… if you don't…"

"You wait!" Dylan stressed as he shook her arm "You hear me… you wait for me!"

"How long?"

"… give me four days…"

"Four days isn't enough to…"

"Then I should hurry."

Hannah held his head to hers and gasped.

"Cadrina is the only one who can end this nightmare," Dylan went on "Everything… every-one… depends on her."

"I am thinking of everyone," said Hannah "And her… When you find him, you kill him, Dylan. No posturing, no speeches, just kill him. Don't let him take her away from us again! Send him to hell!"

Dylan bit his lip and nodded quickly, fully aware of the daunting task that was ahead of him…

Alone in another shuttle Dylan listened to the recording again by Dr. Wilson who explained how he had stumbled on to the Illusive Man's true identity and intentions and why he needed to terminate Cadrina Shepard. Dylan and Hannah absorbed as much as they could of the Interface documentation and the mechanisms Jack Harper would use to access it. While his wife had some issues with her executive officer, she spoke highly of her science officer's abilities and recommended that Dylan work with her to figure out a way to track Jack Harper's personal starship. Hannah had informed him over an encrypted com channel that Cadrina had located the Interface, but had not yet triggered it.

There was still a chance.

Achieving orbit over the prothean world, he used the recalibrated scanners to search for telltale signs. His work with the science officer was not in vain; readouts showed that Harper had definitely come here after the _Normandy 2_ departed. Dylan had the scent, but where to search next? From what the late General Dienz confessed, Harper may be somewhere in Reaper-controlled territory, perhaps a few steps behind Cadrina. Dylan could follow her as well but not too closely. No one else could know of what was done to her, nor could Cadrina suspect. There was one more piece of information could help get a fix on his whereabouts. Setting off again, Dylan used his backdoor clearance codes to access the Alliance covert intelligence net and ran a search on current sightings of known Cerberus operatives.

Dylan thought of a line from a poem he once read: _God casts a shadow so wide mortals cannot perceive it. _The Reapers had not been driven back so Jack Harper was still mortal and still cast a visible shadow. But he would not risk capture or defeat out in the open or lying in the QE transmitter, waiting for his chance to possess Cadrina. Like Dracula, he would need someone nearby to guard him while in this vulnerable state. Someone he trusted implicitly, with the skill and the hardware at their disposal to keep his master safe. This guardian also cast a shadow. This shadow could give the Illusive Man away.

Kai Leng.

DESTINY IS AT HAND…

Author's Notes and Thoughts:

- Suggested soundtracks (from _Tron: Legacy, _a great film score worthy of _Mass Effect_):

* From the point the Reaper is first spotted to when Miranda sends away Cadrina's parents - _Adagio for Tron_

* From when Hannah and Dylan start running back to the shuttle to the Reaper's threat to Miranda – _Recognizer_ (inthe last third of the song, you can picture the Reaper descending over Miranda)

* For the verbal confrontation in the shuttle - _Nocturne_

- I forgot to mention in the last chapter end notes: in _Mass Effect 3_ Cerberus troops are dispatched to kill Shepard, supposedly by the Illusive Man since they've been indoctrinated by the Reapers. Seemed a bit trite and obvious, though I plead guilty to using a few well-worn scenes and devices myself. I thought it would be more interesting if it was someone else who gave the order – Illusive Man needs Shepard alive after all, if she's to activate the Interface. Someone connected to Cadrina in some way, like through her father. An old nemesis of his that sees sending in the troops as both the way to save humanity as well as to get back at his former protégés.

- My apologies to Miranda fans out there. As she worked more with Shepard, she eventually came around and becomes more of a sympathetic character than an ice queen. But for me her upbringing, the loss of a secure foundation and identity that Cerberus provided coupled with the loss of her sister and Jacob Taylor, was more than she could deal with. Dienz's revelations were the last straw. She could only see one more mistake she needed to answer for and at least made sure her death counted for something…


End file.
